Greetings All ( kinda off the subject)

Hello there, i am somewhat new to treasure net, but i have been running around the woods since i was a wee child, i found many great things in my past, I now work about 70hrs a week a pizzaria and belvie me, it sucks. Anyway im 20yrs of age and about 1 month till im 21, yeah im a young'n but hey, all the more time to stat exploring..
Well i was just wondering if there are any upcoming expeditions out there. I was hoping
to go on my first sometime next spring, but am currently looking for some adventures.
to help me, frankley i dont care about finding anything, i mean ill try my hardest but im just going for the adventure...anywhere, I heard of a place where the riverbeds are full of diamonds as far as the eye can see, in Vanizula. But thats a very dangeruos place..

Alright, if anyone is seruiosly up to this please PM me or post back =)
~RuinEx

Re: Greetings All ( kinda off the subject)

Greetings RuinExplorer,
I don’t know of any expeditions forming at the moment, but approve of your seeking to gain experience by teaming up with more experienced treasure hunters. I can make a few suggestions though, that hopefully will be of some use to you.

If it is your heart’s desire to head for some far-flung and exotic locale to search for lost cities or streams full of diamonds, then South America could hardly be a better choice. Even whole lost cities are found there, even in our modern day. However it is not a place that is the best choice for a first experience, for there are dangers and difficulties that you would not encounter elsewhere such as legal problems, for instance, some countries have laws that no non-citizen is allowed to prospect or own mineral properties etc, some have rather draconian laws about found treasure in which virtually all that you find goes to the all-too-often corrupt government officials, there are armed bandits who will not hesitate to murder you for what to us, would be a pittance in money or even more probable, to kidnap you and hold you for ransom whether you are actually worth a fortune or not; because to the un-educated bad men you are a wealthy American foreigner, someone to be hated and reviled. To these men you represent everything they hate, and they need no proof of your wealth (no matter how much you may try to reason with them that you are there seeking to find your fortune, which to a logical person would make sense that you are probably not wealthy or you wouldn’t be out searching) is that you are THERE, so you must have plenty of dinero in order to even have traveled there. The local laws on possessing firearms, in order to protect yourself (and don’t depend on foreign police to make any special efforts to protect your American arse) are also an area of great muddle – some countries allow foreigners to carry weapons, some don’t – and even in those countries where you are legally allowed to carry, often times local authorities take a dim view of armed foreigners wandering around their territory. I am not trying to frighten you off from ever going on such an adventure, but would hope that you first arm yourself with enough experience in the field and knowledge of local laws, as well as the geography, language, climate, even as much local customs as you can. (This seemingly un-important subject can pay off, by befriending locals who can help you in so many ways as well as leads to follow to treasure.)

Warning here to not let the young ones read any further, or if you are squeamish – stop reading! Otherwise, read on…

Then there are the risks from the environment, including wildlife (yes there are real jaguars there, though they rarely ever attack a grown man, an old jaguar that is not in physical condition to successfully capture wild game may turn to hunting easier prey like livestock and slow-moving weak humans) venomous snakes like the incredibly deadly Fer de Lance pit viper, found in tropical areas across South and Central America, whose highly toxic venom results in a fatality in a matter of minutes – worse they are incredibly fast, so quick to strike that even snake handling experts never attempt to handle them without the use of tongs, read more on:

There are strange and weird critters there too, from the infamous Piranha fish, who can strip the meat from a grown cow weighing over a thousand pounds in a matter of minutes (though again, they rarely attack humans, it DOES happen) or the species of bullhead that will swim up inside of a man’s ***** while he is in the act of urinating (while in the water) then extend his spike-fins on the sides and top of the head, burying the painful spines into the wall of the urethra, so that the fish can feed on you! They are only removable by surgery and even though some people cannot believe such a horrifying little vermin exists, they are all too real, though thankfully not common. There are parasites which you can become infected with there, which to even describe gives me nightmares, and tropical diseases for which you should get as many immunization shots as you can (some are required by law before you are allowed to visit) and unfortunately some horrific diseases have no cure nor any kind of immunization, you simply run the risk. Even diseases which are pretty well eradicated here in the states, hang on in these less developed countries – even polio is still common there and malaria, which is no joke. There are tremendous treasures to find there, from lost cities to diamonds to gold you name it, but there are also tremendous risks involved. Hollywood movies exaggerate dangers in their depictions of adventures in faraway lands, but don’t be fooled – the risks are very real! I am not saying forget the idea, just do not be in a rush to the most dangerous adventure first, get some experience with less dangerous treasure hunts which can reward you in many ways besides financially.

If you were only attracted to the idea out of a wish to become wealthy, there are far less dangerous and more sure-fire methods of doing so – however from your post I can see that you are more attracted to the adventure of the search than to the potential of finding a great treasure. After all, as Robert Service said, it is not the gold that I am seeking so much as the finding of the gold!

There are some fantastic lost treasures right in your own neck of the woods, like the famous lost Silver Madonna statue, hidden somewhere in the hills by British Rangers who took it on a raid into then-French controlled Canada and never recovered. There may be fewer venomous serpents and armed bandits on the prowl there, but even in such a “civilized” area, there are men who would not hesitate to hurt you in order to take away your treasure (should you be fortunate enough to find it) or even to steal any maps or clues you may have.

To find some experienced treasure hunting buddies to “get your feet wet” and pick up some of the “tricks of the trade” there are excellent contacts on this site, just start checking out the numerous members on the member map:http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?action=googlemap

There is an excellent resource designed for finding buddies to go treasure hunting with on the Lost Treasure magazine web site, the link is:

There are clubs which have members of like interests as we do, such as the Gold Prospectors Association of America, (I have never been much of a “joiner” of clubs or associations, always feared it would damage my image as a curmudgeon heh heh) and among the members you will likely find buddies only too happy to join you in a quest for treasure. The club has regular group outings and trips, which are really much more of social gatherings but great fun and you will meet some of the most interesting folks (including curmudgeons like me) learn many methods and tricks of the trade, and likely even get a little gold in the process. Check out their website at:http://education.yahoo.com/reference...ia/entry/16648

Another club, though smaller, I might recommend is the New 49’ers, they own a large group of claims in Northern California that consistently produces gold. Their web site is at:http://www.goldgold.com/

There are a number of others too, including in your own area – this is just a sample for you to check out if you are interested. Your youth is a great asset to you, you will have plenty of stamina and staying power to really search in a serious way - only wish I was your age!

I would also recommend you find some good books on treasure hunting, one that stands out in my memory is titled “Treasure Recovery” (or similar) put out by the manufacturers of the excellent Garrett metal detectors.

I hope this is of some help, good luck and good hunting to you – I hope you find a great treasure!
Your friend,
Roy A. Decker - Oroblanco

"When I was young I was called a rugged individualist. When I was in my fifties I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing and saying the same things I did then and I'm labeled senile." --George Burns

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"We must find a way, or we will make one."--Hannibal Barca

Re: Greetings All ( kinda off the subject)

Oroblanco, hearing and looking at these links from you, have just open'd my mind right up.
Thanks for all the information, and now i got some more research to do.I will be sure to keep in comtact with ya.

Re: Greetings All ( kinda off the subject)

This will give you a general idea on professional & scientific explorations, but NOT treasure hunting. It is against their charter. There might be an expedition being organized which may consider you. Ask.

Individual members can hunt treasures on their own, but not under the organizations name or Flag. This is what I do.

El OROBLANCO certainly knows what he is talking about, read very very carefully what he has said several times, and believe it!

I have not explored in South America, although I did have a land grant of 10,000 hectares on a tributary on the upper Amazon, but since I didn't claim it in time, I lost it, prob. jut as well, I would have been a shrunken head curiosity by now hehehe.

My explorations in the Americas have been confined to the jungles of the zone of Mexico, Guatemala, & Honduras. also, the then basically unexplored, Barrancas of North Western Mexico.

Em me @ RealdeTayopa@hotmail.com or simply post here if you have any questions, although Oro Blanco fairly well covered the lighter problems.

Tropical Tramp

p.s. accompanying pictures have been posted before, but in case you haven't seen them--- It can be a bit rough. Also look for the book 'The River Flows East' by Leonard Clark, a fascinating book. on actual South American Explorations on a shoe string.

Re: Greetings All ( kinda off the subject)

Ah, once agian thanks for the help,RealdeTayopa.Im sure i'll be asking both of ya for some help in the future. But at the moment i still got to find a place to finally settle down and begin my research. =P